Top Questions About Juicing
Q. Do I leave the peel on my fruits and veggies when juicing? And what about the seeds?
A. Here's the deal, if you buy organic produce you can leave the peel intact. It's best to peel non-organic foods so you forgo ingesting most of the pesticides. Citrus fruits should be peeled because the rind will make your juice taste bitter, but you can leave the white pith. Most seeds can be left in the fruit and put through the juicer. Hard “pit” seeds such as peach, plum, and cherry must be removed first.
Q. Can I make a pitcher of juice and store it for the day? A. Fresh juice is the best. This is because the vitamins and nutrients in juice can oxidize or decrease as time goes by. Light and oxygen are two components that speed up this process, but you can slow it down by keeping the juice in the refrigerator. Be sure to use an airtight container, like a mason jar, that's not much larger than the amount of juice and store it for up to 24 hours.
Q. Can I use a blender?
A. Yes. However, a blender is different from a juicer. When you blend veggies and fruits you end up with a smoothie. In a blended drink, the fiber still remains intact in the food and therefore your digestive system works harder than it does when you drink juice. One example is a green smoothie. The point of a juicing is often to relieve the body from digesting for a period of time. That being said, you can still make juice with a blender. You'll just need a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to manually remove the fiber. After you blend your ingredients simply pour the the mixture through the nut milk bag or cheesecloth and then squeeze out all the liquids you can. Discard (or compost) the leftover pulp.
Q. I'm thinking about doing a juice cleanse and I'm wondering if I can use just one recipe for my entire cleanse or if I should mix in different vegetables and fruits?
A. It is best to mix up the recipes for a couple of reasons. First you may get bored drinking the same juice all day for several days and that's not fun. Also your body requires a lot of different vitamins and minerals to maintain optimal health. By trying different veggies and fruits in your recipes you’ll be giving your body balanced nutrition.
Q. I see so many juices with vegetables out there, but I would rather use fruits. Is that ok?
A. I recommend vegetable based juices - especially green vegetables. The reason is that green vegetables are more alkaline and balancing for the body. They bring more nutrients to the table and are less taxing on the digestive system. A good rule of thumb is to do 3 parts veggies and 1 part fruit for added sweetness. The best fruits to add are apples and pears.
Q. How do you get enough liquid from the leafy vegetables?
A. Some of the leafy vegetable just don’t have that much juice in them. However the juice that is there is very powerful and potent so don’t dismiss them altogether. To get the best yield out of the leafy greens try rolling them to compact the leaves or wrapping them around a cucumber or carrot. Making them “bulkier” may help to get more juice. If you are getting serious about juicing you may want to check out a masticating juicer. This type of juice machine “chews” the food at slower speed and may work better on the leafy vegetables.
Q. If I went on a juice cleanse, where would my protein come from?
A. Vegetables DO contain protein. For example spinach has about 1g of protein per cup and broccoli has about 2g per cup. Typically as a society we consume too many proteins and we’re conditioned to believe that we will not survive with less. You will. I promise. But if you are concerned about proteins you can add a powdered spirulina/wheatgrass type supplement to your juice.
Q. How much weight will I lose on a five day juice cleanse?
A. You may lose some weight during a juice cleanse. The amount will vary per person but the average is about one pound per day on a five day fast. Much of this is simply retained water and built up food matter in the colon. To maintain the weight loss it is important to stick to a routine of healthy eating, exercise, and periodic cleansing.
Happy Juicing!
A. Here's the deal, if you buy organic produce you can leave the peel intact. It's best to peel non-organic foods so you forgo ingesting most of the pesticides. Citrus fruits should be peeled because the rind will make your juice taste bitter, but you can leave the white pith. Most seeds can be left in the fruit and put through the juicer. Hard “pit” seeds such as peach, plum, and cherry must be removed first.
Q. Can I make a pitcher of juice and store it for the day? A. Fresh juice is the best. This is because the vitamins and nutrients in juice can oxidize or decrease as time goes by. Light and oxygen are two components that speed up this process, but you can slow it down by keeping the juice in the refrigerator. Be sure to use an airtight container, like a mason jar, that's not much larger than the amount of juice and store it for up to 24 hours.
Q. Can I use a blender?
A. Yes. However, a blender is different from a juicer. When you blend veggies and fruits you end up with a smoothie. In a blended drink, the fiber still remains intact in the food and therefore your digestive system works harder than it does when you drink juice. One example is a green smoothie. The point of a juicing is often to relieve the body from digesting for a period of time. That being said, you can still make juice with a blender. You'll just need a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to manually remove the fiber. After you blend your ingredients simply pour the the mixture through the nut milk bag or cheesecloth and then squeeze out all the liquids you can. Discard (or compost) the leftover pulp.
Q. I'm thinking about doing a juice cleanse and I'm wondering if I can use just one recipe for my entire cleanse or if I should mix in different vegetables and fruits?
A. It is best to mix up the recipes for a couple of reasons. First you may get bored drinking the same juice all day for several days and that's not fun. Also your body requires a lot of different vitamins and minerals to maintain optimal health. By trying different veggies and fruits in your recipes you’ll be giving your body balanced nutrition.
Q. I see so many juices with vegetables out there, but I would rather use fruits. Is that ok?
A. I recommend vegetable based juices - especially green vegetables. The reason is that green vegetables are more alkaline and balancing for the body. They bring more nutrients to the table and are less taxing on the digestive system. A good rule of thumb is to do 3 parts veggies and 1 part fruit for added sweetness. The best fruits to add are apples and pears.
Q. How do you get enough liquid from the leafy vegetables?
A. Some of the leafy vegetable just don’t have that much juice in them. However the juice that is there is very powerful and potent so don’t dismiss them altogether. To get the best yield out of the leafy greens try rolling them to compact the leaves or wrapping them around a cucumber or carrot. Making them “bulkier” may help to get more juice. If you are getting serious about juicing you may want to check out a masticating juicer. This type of juice machine “chews” the food at slower speed and may work better on the leafy vegetables.
Q. If I went on a juice cleanse, where would my protein come from?
A. Vegetables DO contain protein. For example spinach has about 1g of protein per cup and broccoli has about 2g per cup. Typically as a society we consume too many proteins and we’re conditioned to believe that we will not survive with less. You will. I promise. But if you are concerned about proteins you can add a powdered spirulina/wheatgrass type supplement to your juice.
Q. How much weight will I lose on a five day juice cleanse?
A. You may lose some weight during a juice cleanse. The amount will vary per person but the average is about one pound per day on a five day fast. Much of this is simply retained water and built up food matter in the colon. To maintain the weight loss it is important to stick to a routine of healthy eating, exercise, and periodic cleansing.
Happy Juicing!
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